For the Love of a Brother
by PlotbunnyChariot
Summary: When Mai has to watch Tom-Tom alone, she isn't happy about it. But when a kidnapping attempt takes place, she has to choose between the apathetic life she's always led, and the one spark of love she has for her brother. But will she be able to save him? Oneshot, some violence and the like, took my best guess on the rating. Please read and review!


_For the Love of a Brother_

Mai groaned. There was no way she was going to do this. No way.

"Mai, you know this conference regarding Omashu, or rather, New Ozai, is important to your father, and to our family. It will decide our future from here on out. I need to go with him, and we need someone to watch Tom-Tom. You will watch him; it is that simple."

"But mom-"

"Mai, do I have to raise my voice for you to understand me?" her mother nearly screeched. "You will watch Tom-Tom, and that is that." She unceremoniously dumped the toddler into Mai's arms, and he laughed and kicked his legs. Mai sighed heavily, but she accepted the load.

"Fine," she replied, eyes dark under her black bangs.

"Good," her mother replied, her voice suggesting the conversation was over and the decision final. She straightened up, her beautiful red dress flowing behind her from her movement. "Now, we should be back late tonight, so take care of Tom-Tom and don't leave the house. You know how vile these Earth Kingdom peasants are; some of them are still upset that their beloved city has been captured, and we don't want you or Tom-Tom getting hurt." She started to walk away to join her husband at the door, before adding, "After all, can you imagine how that would look politically for your father?" before leaving and closing the door behind her.

Mai winced. Was that all her parents seriously cared about? "Stupid politics," she muttered under her breath as she put Tom-Tom back on the floor. He looked up at her with a goofy grin, two buck teeth sticking out and bangs falling in front of his eyes. She rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to look cute, kid," she demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest. "It won't get you anywhere with me, and anyway to Mom and Dad, it's only good for the political attention. It's not worth your time." Tom-Tom, not understanding her words, just laughed and began playing with his toy Fire Nation soldier on the floor.

Mai rolled her eyes again. "Honestly," she muttered. "Why you have to be so happy all the time, I'll never understand. You do realize they don't care, right?" She glared at the little tyke paying no attention to her. "All they care about is their stupid image. They don't care about either of us-we're just propaganda tools to them. They'll never actually love us; if they haven't yet, they never will." Tom-Tom glanced happily up at her before continuing to play with his toy, rolling it across the floor and making up noises for it. "Oh, sure, they'll give you plenty of stuff," Mai continued, mildly surprised at the amount of speech coming forth from her mouth, "but stuff doesn't cut it. It gets old real fast. What actually matters in this crazy life is love, which is something they can never give." Her voice grew bitter in her mouth at the end of her rant.

She glanced back down at Tom-Tom, who was still blissfully ignoring her, and her eyes softened-for just a moment-at the innocence of the baby in front of her. She suddenly felt like protecting, and helping, and guiding this little creature before her. Maybe she could help him get through life better than she had herself...

The doorbell ringing shattered her brief peace, and with a heavy sigh she left to check the door, first putting her baby brother on the couch. Opening the door, she was instantly assaulted by bright colors and the obnoxious face of an Earth Kingdom merchant of sorts.

"Greetings, m' lady! Have I got a great deal for you this lovely night!"

Shocked, Mai blinked and almost took a step back, but her nature was to hold her ground, so she did. "What are you talking about?" she snapped in defense, still trying to take in all the colors of the merchant's goods in the cart behind him.

"My dear lady, I am a seller of only the finest goods, and I am here to offer you the deal of a lifetime! For a beautiful lady such as yourself, a gorgeous multi-colored dress, in the latest fashion, for half its original cost!"

The gaudy dress affronted Mai's vision, and she put out her hand as if to push it away. "I don't want your stupid dress," she almost yelled in response, the sudden colors and beat-up fabric shoved in her face making her even more defensive. "Go away!"

"But please, Madame!" the merchant pleaded, whipping out a fake gem-studded bracelet, "What about gem bracelets, buy one and get one free?!"

She slammed the door in his face and locked it, surprised by the sudden silence and trying to breathe. "Stupid peddlers!" she hissed under her breath, glancing around the room. It was then that she noticed the couch where she had last placed Tom-Tom...was empty.

"Tom-Tom?" she called, checking the area immediately around the couch. He couldn't have gone that far...oh, no.

The back door, unlocked, was just swinging closed. She briefly caught the figure of a man's shadow through the door's crack.

Her heart stopped.

Before she knew what she was doing, the fury and fear in her heart was driving her legs, and she was out the door and on the trail of the man who had just stolen her baby brother. Stolen!

She didn't think about her mother and father, and their political ideas at the would-be loss of their son. She didn't think about their real lack of love or care for either of them. All that filled her mind was the image of Tom-Tom, laughing innocently at the world and playing with his toy-the toy that was now left on the floor of their house. Abandoned.

Mai slowed as she neared the corner of the alley and pressed up against the dirty wall, not caring about her clothes. She could hear voices on the other side, and the muffled sound of her baby brother crying. She forced herself not to move yet; she had to know what they were planning. Then they would pay.

"...we'll ransom him, and when the future mayor pays up, we'll pull the wool over his eyes, real quick..."

"Finally, we'll be able to get away with a ransoming and make a fortune-no Earth Kingdomer will stop us against the Fire Nation!"

"Right! And we'll make them promise us safe passing out of the city, if they ever do find out who we are, or else the little brat dies!"

Mai shivered, ice from nowhere running up and tickling her spine.

"Your plan is too perfect, Lee!"

"Haha, and the best part is, either way, when we get the money, they don't get back the kid! Idiot Fire Nation higher-ups; the kid will die, either way they play their cards." Tom-Tom let out a cry.

"Try these cards!" In a furious flash of black and silver, Mai launched herself from the wall and pinned the larger man to the wall with her knives. The man she guessed was Lee, holding her brother, instantly used Tom-Tom as a human shield, and she froze in mid-throw. She was a great shot, but she couldn't risk hurting Tom-Tom with her daggers.

Lee sneered, and she recognized him as the fake merchant from minutes ago. It had all been a ploy, to distract her and grab Tom-Tom. Oh, they were going to regret that. For the rest of their miserable lives.

"Now, now, little Fire Nation noble-girl," Lee condescendingly said, "you just stay there and stay quiet, and the little one won't come to any harm."

"Mai!" Tom-Tom held out his stubby little fists, tears welling up in his eyes, as he saw his big sister and called out her name for the first time in his life.

Lee laughed, his echo sickly sounding off the alley's walls. "Well then, Mai," he restated, backing up a few paces and making sure to hold Tom-Tom out in front of him, "why don't you just stay there and relax? You wouldn't want your little brother here to have a horrible fall." He faked dropping Tom-Tom, causing Mai to flinch and glare at him.

Suddenly, she felt strong arms grab her from behind, and Lee's strong-man henchman held her in his grasp; he'd clearly broken free of her daggers. She struggled against his powerful hold, loudly yelling at him at the same time, and gasped when he squeezed the air from her lungs.

Lee laughed and stepped forward, lowering Tom-Tom onto the floor. Tom-Tom tried desperately to crawl away, but Lee blocked him easily with his foot, much to the infant's fear and anguish. May shivered, equal parts fury and terror for her younger sibling. She'd never felt this strongly before, even towards her parents.

Lee lifted the toddler with his foot and dumped him unceremoniously in an abandoned basket; it reminded Mai of her mother, and she felt fury surge up in her veins, conquering the fear in her heart. She was the only one who cared about this boy; she was going to save him. No matter what.

Lee walked over with a sneer, congratulating his henchman on a job "well done". Then his attention turned to Mai, and she felt a sickening feeling wash over her at the light behind his eyes. He grabbed her by the chin. "What a pretty little girl, to be out late at night chasing down kidnappers," he whispered wickedly.

She spat in his mouth.

He backed away rapidly, gagging and spitting.

"Don't touch me," she spat, trying to escape the strong-man's hold. "You'll regret it."

His lip curled up, ugly yellow teeth revealing themselves in his grimace. "Oh, really?" he replied, eyes lit up in anger and stance threatening. Mai knew, despite the warm rush of fury currently flowing through her blood and clouding her mind, that she wouldn't last long out here alone unless she acted, quickly. It was now or never.

With a wrathful screech, she kicked the man behind her with all the force of a mother defending her child, for that was what she now was. He dropped her with a gasp of pain, and in an instant she had pinned Lee to the wall with the knives that were still functional after the hold of the strong-man. Spinning, she landed another kick on the henchman, who grabbed her leg and tried to twist her around; she whipped out another dagger from her left arm and stabbed his hand, and he howled with pain. Taking it out of the writhing man's hand, she hit him over the head with its hilt and he fell against the wall, earning another blow to the head and passing out cold.

Mai walked over to Lee, the dagger raised threateningly. She couldn't help but enjoy the light of fear that struggled with the self-centered expression in his eyes. Instead of hurting him, however, she thrust the dagger into his shirt, pinning him more solidly to the wall behind him. She felt the rush of air from his shocked lungs and smiled dangerously.

"The next time you try to kidnap someone," she hissed under her breath, locking her eyes with his, "it had better not be anyone I know. Because if this e_ver _happens again," her voice went to a whole new level of deadly, "I will personally take you _out_. Got it?"

He nodded frantically, terror fully occupying his eyes.

She smiled and patted the side of his face mockingly. "Good."

She turned then and hugged her only brother, who clung to her clothes with his little hands and cried, whimpering "Mai" over and over again.

"Hush, Tom-Tom; I know," she whispered softly. "I've got you now." She stood up, glaring back at Lee as only she could do. "They'll never get you again. Never."

The Fire Nation's equivalent of police came that night at her call and took Lee and his henchman away. She never saw their ugly mugs again, and she was perfectly happy with that. Her parents blew up the whole event and used it for purely political purposes, both scolding and praising Mai in the process, but Mai thought she saw one genuine tear in her mother's eyes, once the reporters had left. Maybe they could be changed, too. Maybe.

Mai returned, for the most part, to who she had been before, but with one major difference: deep inside her heart, buried farther than any but one person could find it, she held a spark of flaming hope that love could be stronger than hate.

And her brother? Tom-Tom remembered the incident the rest of his life, despite it being in his early years. He would never forget the way his sister had defended him, and he would never forget his favorite word.

Mai.

_Fine!_

:) :) :) A Mai Fanfic :) :) :)


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